Five Nations
After the fall of the Great Jade Empire, the Five Heirs of the Amaranthine Empress each became the Raol (a Shevrandi word meaning "ruler," and roughly analogous to the Common word "prince") of a separate nation, named after the faction they lead during the War of Ascension. Jei'Den, Nation of the Gray Falcon The entire breadth of the Brightcloud Mountains down to their foothills became home to Jei'Den, under the Gray Falcon banner. Jei'Den produces the orchids which form the basis of food and medicine for a significant portion of Barram. The secret growing methods of the mountain nation produces massive crops, enough to trade with the other nations. The mountains are also home to the only extant mithral mines accessible to the surface, and also produce adamantine and other metals to compete with Hru'Den. The various clans and tribes of the Nation operate more or less independently, only sending their chiefs to a gathering at Mitru's fortress home once a year to discuss matters such as taxes or the comparatively few written laws the Nation requires. Though Mitru's word is considered law, he considers exercising this absolute authority to be unpleasant and largely unnecessary. Vas'Rati'Den, Nation of the Black Wolf The region immediately surrounding the former Imperial capital, including the inland sea and its scattered islands, would become the nation of Vas'Rati'Den, under the Black Wolf banner. Although she occupies the Lotus Palace at the insistence of her siblings, Phraena does not consider herself a ruler, but rather an adviser to her people. She leaves most of the direct, day-to-day decisions in the country to the Chamber of Ministries and the People's Forum, a bicameral governing body. The Chamber is made of those specialist officials appointed personally by Phraena, while the latter consists of 101 directly-elected representatives chosen by the various districts and island towns of the Nation. These two organs are responsible for passing all laws in Vas'Rati'Den; laws are first proposed by the Forum as prompted by their constituents, then reviewed by the Chamber, and then either returned to the Forum for revision, or else given to the Raol to seal. While Phraena has the authority to issue mandates when she sees fit, she has only done so four times; the first and second were to establish the Nation in the first place, and the second was to create the Chamber and Forum. Vas'Rati'Den derives much of its wealth and influence from Hata'Prasata: seafood, naturally, but also floating gardens of papyrus used in parchment-making and bamboo used for a variety of purposes including food. Also in great demand are the artisans and master crafters who have traditionally resided in the capital; the finest weapons, armor, enchantments and art is created in ancient ateliers in Angkor Arjet. Aga'Den, Nation of the White Horse The central plains of the Sea of Grass is the vast domain of Aga'Den, the White Horse Nation. The wind seems to blow endlessly across towering wild tallgrain, spear grass and blue-sword. At the eastern and western edges, the plain gives way to savannas of densely-grouped trees, where whipwood is carefully manufactured according to methods going back centuries. Caravans of landships drift across the plains, following paths marked by carved menhir between caravansaries or towns, since the spear grass grows fast enough to obliterate tracks in only a week or so. Herds of aurochs, wild horse, bison, and pygmy mastodon provided the basis for the nomadic agriculture practiced by the tribes and clans native to this region. The capital of Aga'Den is mobile, slowly patrolling the entire Nation in a giant caravan. Loa Zet n'Zet is a skilled tactician and insightful leader, but much like her brother Mitru, much of the work of running her nation is left to local leaders, who have conducted their affairs for ages without needing her assistance. Loa's occasional edicts are posted upon the menhir or delivered to towns by armed messenger caravans dispatched by the Raol; for the most part, what she provides is the presence of her army, making sure that in the absence of the Imperial Regular Army, the peace is still kept on the plains. The dangers of the Sea are many - bandits, fierce barbarians (including the numerous orc, goblin, and hobgoblin tribes), wolves, lions, axe beaks, and even the occasional giant, ankheg, or territorial blodeuwedd - but so are the rewards. Blue sword grass produces bolls of fiber that can be woven into excellent textiles (traditionally worn by plains nomads), tallgrain has long been grown as a staple food, and there are very few rivals to the horses of the Sea of Grass, and very few trainers the equal of the nomads. But the most valuable commodity of the Sea is transportation: windrunning was invented here, and since the Sea of Grass makes up a very significant portion of Barram, anyone who wishes to do trade between the Nations must ship their goods via landship. It is the construction of these landships that forms the heart of trade between Aga'Den and her neighbor to the east. Yan'Den, Nation of the Yellow Bear Yan'Den, flying the Yellow Bear as their banner, controls the giant Greensun Forest almost entirely, along with the eastern coast of Barram. A forest so dense that even where light breaks through the canopy, it is tinted emerald by the leaves, the heart of Yan'Den is an eternal and evergreen place of towering titan redwoods, greatsword pines, and rare groves of darkwood trees. The largest population of elves on Barram lives in the Greensun Forest, especially on the peninsula called the Spear of Hano. They have a mutual defense and trade pact with Yan'Den, and some elves have even come to live in Yan'Den cities. While the Yellow Bear Nation does produce a variety of trade goods, its chief exports are of course wooden. Not only is mundane lumber carefully harvested from the Forest, but Yan'Den produces virtually all of the darkwood and darkwood leaf cloth used on Barram, along with other specialty and difficult to produce materials like greenwood. There are even a few groves of wyrwood growing in the Greensun, and a single (albeit large) stand of axebane oak, essential to the production of living steel. For her part, Raol Dashka focuses her attention upon stewardship of the Forest; her laws are chiefly passed to regulate the taking of game and the harvesting of lumber. Even though her domain is considered "more trees than soil," she treats every tree as a precious commodity, and great care is taken to limit the number of trees cut down entirely. She is advised directly by a council of druids, shamans, hunters and rangers, and a combination of forestry and primal magic is used to manage the resources of the Nation. Dashka herself is an adherent of the Green Faith, and spends as much time as she can roaming the Forest with a very small entourage of close friends. Hru'Den, Nation of the Red Lion The western coast of Barram is held by Hru'Den, flying the banner of the Red Lion. Lead by Raol Jerris Rau n'Rau, Hru'Den is by far the wealthiest of the Five Nations, though its population is smaller than that of Vas'Rati'Den or Yan'Den. Much of Hru'Den is mountainous, with the largest range known as the Dragon's Spine (home to the Titan's Hilt); the foothills run nearly to the Singing Coast itself. The Coast is named for its famous beaches of multicolored singing sand, which produce unusual barks or even musical tones when trod upon. Trade upon the sea, overland shipping, and the mining and refining of ores is the basis of Hru'Den wealth. It is also home to clockmakers and gunsmiths, and nearly the entirety of Barram's airships are built in the Red Lion Nation. Spiresteel was invented in Hru'Den, developed by the mage-artisans of the Unyielding Alloy Blossom College; other specialty metals such as fire-forged and frost-forged steel, living steel, alchemical silver, sunsilver and sea-proven steel are produced by this Nation's many metalworkers. This is because, in addition to the mineral-rich mountains, Hru'Den is home to the largest population of surface dwarves on Barram, and has strong ties to the delver dwarf clans living beneath it. In fact, with their populations combined, there are more dwarves, halflings and gnomes in Hru'Den than humans. Jerris is perhaps the most active leader of the Heirs; a meticulous planner who favors precision and efficiency, he works tirelessly with his cabinet of Ministers and the various nobles and guildmasters of his Nation to ensure things run smoothly. It is a famous claim of Hru'Den that "there are no beggars under the Red Lion," referencing the remarkably high quality of life maintained by its people. Raol Jerris has stated repeatedly that "a Nation where anyone starves is a weak Nation;" wages are set by law, education is provided to commoners free of charge, and officers of the Ministry of Employment can be found in every large town offering government work for anyone in need of pay. The Raol is a great lover of innovation and improvement, and keeps his Nation busy building roads, maintaining forts, and developing new vessels for trade and defense. For this reason, the taxes in Hru'Den are also markedly higher than elsewhere in the Five Nations, but it is generally held by the citizens to be worth the quality of life they enjoy.